Icing on the holiday: Allentown Symphony, Penguin skaters, choruses take to PPL Center

With the advent of the month of December, the mood around the country has changed. We have entered “the holidays,” a time when we look forward to spending time with family and friends, shopping for gifts, and perhaps relaxing and taking a little time off from work.

Sometimes during December, we get trapped in the bustle of errands, shopping, cleaning, and cooking, and we forget that really the most important thing we can do during this time of year is to spend time with the people we care about.

The second annual “Symphony on Ice - Holiday Spectacular,” 7 p.m. Dec. 14, PPL Center, Allentown, is the perfect event to attend with your family and friends to really get you in the holiday mood.

Featuring the award-winning musicians of the Allentown Symphony Orchestra on a platform built right on the ice, this holiday spectacular showcases 70 skaters from the Penguin Figure Skating Club, which practices at Steel Ice Center, Bethlehem.

The Penguin Figure Skating Club has been part of the Lehigh Valley for more than 60 years and is the second-oldest figure skating club in Pennsylvania. The club has established a national reputation as a training program for national competition winners and exceptional skaters. Many of these award-winning skaters will participate in the “Symphony on Ice” show.

Skaters participating include: Grace Moyer, the 2016 Collegiate Championships Senior Ladies Pewter Medalist, and US Figure Skating Double Gold Medalist in Freestyle and Moves in the Field; Laura Wetzel, USFS Triple Gold Medalist in Ice Dancing, Freestyle and Moves in the Field; Mary Elizabeth Rossignuolo, USFS Double Gold Medalist in Freestyle and Moves in the Field, and Maxwell Demsky, USFS Gold Medalist in Moves and the Field, who is also a participant for the 2018 South Atlantic Competition. Other USFS Gold Medal winners include Renae Hallowell and Eva Greene.

Penguin Skate Club Director Angela Davis, who prepares and trains the skaters for national competitions, is coordinating and designing most of the choreography and costumes for the “Symphony on Ice” skaters.

Also featured in the holiday performance will be skaters from The Lehigh Valley Charter High School with directors Thom Mullins and Suzannah Nolt, and the Charter Arts Academy Middle School, with directors Val Nauroth, Lindsay Mazzeo and Julie Kowal.

To add even more excitement to the concert, joining the Allentown Symphony Orchestra on stage will be 150 vocalists from three area high schools. Performing will be: Easton Area High School Camerata, with director Peter Dreshler; Emmaus High School Chorale, with director Rita Cortez, and William Allen High School Chorale, with director Brandon Remp.

The “Symphony on Ice” program will include festive music, ranging from selections from Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” and Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Flight of the Bumble-Bee,” to popular Christmas melodies like “I Need a Little Christmas,“ “Jingle Bell Rock,” “Frosty the Snowman,” and “Let There be Peace on Earth.” Skaters will be showcased with each music selection.

Phantoms Charities presented by Air Products is the presenting sponsor of “Symphony On Ice.” Ticket proceeds will be donated to Phantoms Charities. The Phantom Charities strives to strengthen the community by developing, instituting and operating charitable and educational programs and services aimed at improving the lives of children and adults in the Lehigh Valley and the surrounding communities. We are so fortunate to have an organization like this that really gives back to all the families in the Lehigh Valley and brings us all together in this unique way. Phantoms Charities will be selling tickets for a limited number of rink-side tables that include a full dinner. So, if you want to be up-close and personal to the skaters, and also have your dinner brought right to you, next to the rink is the place to be. “Symphony on Ice - Holiday Spectacular,” featuring the Allentown Symphony Orchestra and the Penguins Skate Club, will be just the right event to get you and your family into the holiday spirit. Tickets: PPLCenter.com; 610-347-TIXX